12/31/23

SCRANTON, Pa. -- As we approach the end of 2023, Lackawanna College Athletics is reflecting on the top moments from the 2023 athletics calendar, and revealing them one day at a time between now and the new year! 

Today's top event came throughout the month of May, as Lackawanna College baseball capped a historic season with an undefeated run through the postseason to make the NJCAA Division II World Series, where they won two games for the first time in program history. 

#1: Lackawanna College Baseball's Incredible Postseason Run
The spring semester of the 2022-2023 season was capped with a run for the ages from Lackawanna College baseball, as the Falcons topped 40 wins on the year, won six straight postseason games to make the World Series, then won two games at the national tournament on their way to one of the best seasons in school history. 

A year removed from a stunning loss in the Region XIX tournament in 2022, The Falcons sat at 7-9 in the early going of the 2023 campaign, having just come off a doubleheader sweep loss on the road at Monroe College. At a crossroads, Lackawanna dug deep, and trusted the process, winning five of its next seven, then six in a row, and then hitting a 12-game winning streak. The Falcons went 16-2 in Region XIX DII play, while going unbeaten in Region play at home, and earned the top-seed in the Region tournament. The Falcons were led by an overpowering offense, scoring ten or more runs in 24 games through the regular season. Eight of the regular rotation players were hitting .300 or better on the year, and the Falcons were an extra-base hitting machine, with 170 on the year entering the postseason. 

In the Region XIX tournament, the Falcons relied on steady pitching, as Aiden Starn (Pennsville, NJ) and Kyle Scott (Warminster, MD), as well as the Falcons bullpen, gave the Falcons offense plenty of chances to get going. A returning Dennis Pierce (Quakertown, PA) smashed a pair of homers in a 6-4 win over Delaware Tech to give the Falcons a berth in the championship game the next day, where they'd face Delaware Tech again. In that championship clash, the Falcons hit three homeruns and had 14 total hits, posting an emphatic 15-2 win over Del Tech to sweep through the Region tournament and clinch a spot in the East District tournament the next weekend, which the Falcons would host. 

Flash forward a weekend, and Lackawanna had a tough task ahead. First, it was the UConn Avery Point Pointers, who had split a pair of doubleheaders with the Falcons earlier in the season. Lackawanna fell behind 3-0, and trailed 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth, before an error, followed by a bases-loaded sac fly, gave the Falcons a brief 4-3 lead. UCAP tied the game at four, but the Falcons broke the damn in the seventh with an eight-run inning, ending the game via run rule. In game two, Lackawanna faced Delaware Tech, and once again fell behind by three runs. Trailing 5-2 into the eighth inning, Lackawanna got one run back on a bases-loaded walk. An infield fly put one out on the board, but Cole Casamento (Limerick, PA) was the hero with a bases-clearing double to turn the game on its head and gave Lackawanna a 6-5 advantage. Leading 7-5 in the bottom of the ninth, the Falcons went to the pen with the bases loaded and two outs, but escaped with the win on a fly ball to left, getting Lackawanna to the championship game the next day. Against the Region XV champion Generals of SUNY Sullivan CC, the Falcons struggled on offense, but leaned on their pitching, particularly Nathan Russell (Drexel Hill, PA), Ty Morris (Manchester Valley, MD), and Matthew McElligott (Columbus, OH), to get Lackawanna a 4-2 win and its fifth-ever NJCAA DII World Series berth. 

Since their 7-9 start, the Falcons went 31-6, including winning 12 straight and their six straight postseason wins to get to the NJCAA World Series, the third appearance under coach Michael McCarry. 

The Falcons had won just one World Series game in their previous four appearances, but were determined to make this an appearance to remember. Sure enough, the Falcons did just that, winning the first game 9-1 against Glendale CC, as Pierce opened eyes at the tournament, going 3-for-4 with a pair of towering homeruns. The next night, againts top-seeded Heartland CC, Starn had the Falcons in the lead into the seventh inning, thanks again to another Pierce homer, plus two RBI-hits from the Falcons. It wasn't meant to be, though, as the Hawks, the eventual national champions, rallied to win 6-3. 

Kicked to the consolation bracket, and facing Glendale CC once again, Lackawanna wasn't ready to call it quits. The Falcons had two big innings to build a 10-4 lead, but were thin at pitcher, throwing out outfielder George Castro (Philadelphia, PA) to the mound at one point to try to stay alive late. Eventually, with the game at 10-8 late in the ninth, Russell came on just 18 hours after pitching againts Heartland the day before, and got the one-out save to help Lackawanna hang on for a 10-8 win to advance to the next day. 

Against St. Johns River State College in the next elimination game, the Falcons fought hard, and had the game within 11-9 heading into the sixth inning, before SJR finally put Lackawanna away for good to snag a 23-9 win, ending a magical run for the Falcons in Enid, Oklahoma. 

The Falcons finished the year at 40-17, tied for the second-most all-time in program history, and won multiple games at the World Series for the first time in program-history. Zachary Walsh (Spring Brook Twp, PA) was named Region XIX Player of the Year, and the Falcons had six overall selections to the All-Region XIX squads. Coach McCarry was named as the Region (and then East District) Coach of the Year, as the Falcons went 6-0 through the Region and District playoffs. Pierce hit .533 (8-for-15) with seven runs scored and seven RBI, hitting three homers and a pair of doubles, earning himself a spot on the All-World Series team as a third baseman, one of only three first-year players to earn that distinction. 

It was a fitting end to an incredible 2023 season for Lackawanna College baseball, and certainly worthy of the top spot on the Top Moments Of 2023 Countdown. 

Top 14 Moments Of 2023 For Lackawanna College Athletics  
14) Lackawanna Softball and Ally Lemerise's Big Week
13) Paserk, Riddick, and Rush Highlight All-Academic Selections
12) Colonel Volk Day At Football Homecoming
11) Lackawanna Esports Raises $12K For Charity
10) Kyle Scott and Ji'Ayir Brown Drafted
9) Worthy, Walsh, and Collins Lead The NJCAA
8) McCarry, Morgan, and Gabriel Win Coach Of The Year Awards
7) Four Student-Athletes Named As NJCAA Player Of The Week
6) Ramírez, Walsh Win Region POTY, Mims Wins EPAC POTY
5) Wrestling Goes Unbeaten, Wins Three District Titles, Qualifies Six For Nationals
4) Mark Duda Secures His 200th Career Win    
3) Lackawanna College Women's Volleyball Wins The Region XIX Championship
2) Lackawanna College Esports Wins Back-To-Back NJCAAE Championships
HM) Falcons Land Five On NJCAA All-American Lists
1) Lackawanna College Baseball's Run To The World Series